Gonzaga, House of

The Gonzaga family ruled the Italian city-state of Mantua throughout the Renaissance. Its first leader, Luigi I, seized power in the city in 1328. The Gonzaga were signori (lords) of Mantua until 1433, when the Holy Roman Emperor* gave them the title of marquis. By the 1470s, Gonzaga rulers had become powerful princes*, who defended their state from larger neighbors such as Venice and Milan. The family avoided potential conflicts by dividing its lands among numerous heirs. This practice helped maintain peace and gave rise to many small Gonzaga lordships.

The Gonzaga achieved their greatest success in the late 1400s and early 1500s under Francesco II and his wife, Isabella d'Este. Besides ruling Mantua, Francesco hired out as a military commander to Venice and the Papal States*. During the 1500s, when the Habsburg dynasty and France competed for control of Italy, the Gonzaga sided with the Habsburgs. In return, Habsburg emperor Charles V conferred the title of Duke of Mantua on the leader of the family.

The last member of the original Gonzaga line died in 1627, and a war broke out over control of Mantua. The Habsburg emperor backed one heir, while the Bourbon family of France supported another. The Bourbons won the contest in 1631, placing a French relative of the Gonzaga in the duke's palace in Mantua. Gonzaga rule came to an end in 1707 with the exile of the last Gonzaga duke. Mantua then fell under the control of the Habsburgs.

The Gonzaga made great contributions to Renaissance culture. Under their rule, Mantua became a center of humanism* and art. The family supported many famous artists, including Andrea Mantegna, Leon Battista Alberti, and Peter Paul Rubens. The Gonzaga also played a prominent role in the Roman Catholic Church. Many members of the family held high church offices, and at least one was a noted reformer within the church. The Gonzaga family included several remarkable women, such as Isabella d'Este, a great supporter of the arts, and Cecilia Gonzaga, a female humanist.

(See alsoCatholic Reformation and Counter-Reformation; City-States; Italy; Princes and Princedoms; Thirty Years' War; Wars of Italy; Women. )

* Holy Roman Emperor

ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, a political body in central Europe composed of several states that existed until 1806

* prince

Renaissance term for the ruler of an independent state

* Papal States

lands in central Italy under the authority of the pope

* humanism

Renaissance cultural movement promoting the study of the humanities (the languages, literature, and history of ancient Greece and Rome) as a guide to living